On Thu, May 03, 2018 at 01:52:16PM +0200, Paolo Bonzini wrote: > On 03/05/2018 13:32, Alexander Shishkin wrote: > >> +static inline bool cpu_has_vmx_pt_use_gpa(void) > >> +{ > >> + return vmcs_config.cpu_based_2nd_exec_ctrl & SECONDARY_EXEC_PT_USE_GPA; > >> +} > > > > I can deduce the meaning of the previous one, but not this one, and there's > > no explanation. > > Within KVM, GPA always means guest physical address. I see, thanks. > >> + if (pt_mode == PT_MODE_SYSTEM) > >> + vmexit_control &= ~(VM_EXIT_CLEAR_IA32_RTIT_CTL | > >> + VM_EXIT_PT_CONCEAL_PIP); > > > > Ok, so what we really want to know is: is there an encompassing PT > > event on this cpu when we go into VMLAUNCH/VMRESTORE, right? > > We can find this out from the pt_ctx and avoid the pt_mode entirely. > > IOW, instead of having the 3 modes that you describe at the top, you > > can use something like the following: > > > > 1. Do we have an event in pt_ctx? > > * No -> Set up the context for VMX. > > * Yes -> 2. Is attr.exclude_guest set? > > * No -> Guest trace goes to the host's buffer, do nothing. > > * Yes -> Set up/switch the context for VMX. > > Can you explain this more clearly? Let's see; in the intel_pt driver we have a per-cpu PT "context", from which we can tell if there is a host event that wants to trace the guest. This should provide enough information to make a decision whether we want to context switch PT MSRs or not on the spot, instead of having a module parameter. Regards, -- Alex